I am counting up how many items that I have to remember to recharge tonight. It could be ten. There are two cell phones, and iPod, DS, Nikon Digital Camera, three laptops, and e-cigarettes. If it takes me ten minutes to find each of the said items, then match it up with its charger, and then find a “good” plug then maintaining my hardware could take as long as watching a movie. This is not including other things that need periodical recharging such as air freshener units, smokeless ashtrays, and stick up lights. Do we actually need more of these little gadgets that always want more and more of our juice? How will we respond to new ideas such as an umbrella that can tell you the weather? What if every object you owned had a mind of its own?

Little electronic companions would replace “inanimate” stuffed animals and they could have technology embedded in them. Everyday objects could be connected and send messages to each other. The rice cooker could tell the oven not to start cooking the fish yet, so that they finish at the same time. The jewellery that people wear could pop over a copy of their business card to your glasses or to a screen on the back of your purse. Your pillow would calculate which music sends you off to sleep the fastest and play it for you.

But where and when do we draw the line may become a factor when our clothing becomes saturated with “helpful” technology. Setting up and caring for all these gadgets becomes a relationship like keeping up with virtual pets. Of course the manufacturers don’t care how long your items last. They just want you to keep them long enough not to make a charge back on what ever plastic you bought them with.

It would be more efficient and welcome if someone invented devices that condense and combine functions and multi – task. As I said last time the number of pockets I have and the weight of a purse that I am willing to carry is finite. I don’t think I want lumpy clothing filled with battery packs or goggles that play YouTube videos. I don’t want anything else that will beep or or bloop or sing when it needs to be fed electricity. I want things that are efficient, intuitive, and that only speak when spoken to.